Another 'great' school year ends

Monday

May 20, 2013 at 3:07 PMMay 20, 2013 at 4:10 PM

For the past nine months, more than 1,100 students ages five through 18 spent their days learning their ABCs in the Redwood Area School District; as of this past Wednesday, the 2012-13 school year came to an end, and according to school administrators is was another “great” year.

By Troy KrauseEditor

For the past nine months, more than 1,100 students ages five through 18 spent their days learning their ABCs in the Redwood Area School District.As of this past Wednesday, the 2012-13 school year came to an end, and according to school administrators is was another "great" year."We had a lot of good people here who are looking out for the best interest of the students," said Rick Ellingworth, RASD superintendent. "I am proud of our staff and the great job they did during the school year."Ellingworth said a highlight for him was being able to engage with more students this school year.

Ellingworth said a concerted effort was made by the school administration to get into classrooms more often this school year to help enhance relationships and focus on those important elements that increase student learning.At the elementary school, Stephanie Flickinger, Reede Gray principal, the chance to be a Celebration School based on MDE standards based on test results was a great thing to celebrate.She added what she has consistently ob-served with the staff at Reede Gray is even though there are reasons to celebrate the focus continues to be on "what's next" to try and make the environment even better.She added the Cardinal Code behavioral program also continues to grow, and she said the school as a whole, staff and students, have really bought into that.Wade Mathers, RVMS principal said the ICU program, which was implemented to help students who were falling behind in school work, has helped to reduce the failure rate and has fostered discussion amongst the staff about what really makes for quality work."Overall, the climate and the culture of the middle school has been very good this year," Mathers said.For Rick Jorgenson, RVHS principal, one of the biggest transitions was his."The year has gone by so fast," Jorgenson, who finished his first full year as principal. "The staff have been great, and it has been neat to help them grow over the year."Programs implemented, such as the robotics team at RVHS, the climate committee at RVMS and the continued growth of technology at all levels is helping to take the school district in a positive direction for the future, said Ellingworth.The professional learning communities continue to help provide better outcomes for the students, as teachers work together rather than in isolation, said Ellingworth.